Waste costs will not be reduced, despite the position of 5 regions and social tension
Today, the Federal Agency for Water Resources held a regular meeting of the Interdepartmental Working Group on regulating the modes of operation of reservoirs of the Volga-Kama Cascade. The issue of establishing the operating modes of the reservoirs of the Volga-Kama cascade for the period from 11.11.2023 to 10.12.2023 was discussed.
The meeting was attended by members of the working group, including representatives of the territorial bodies of Rosvodresursovy, Rosrybolovstvo, Rosmorrechflot, the Ministry of Emergency Situations of Russia, the Ministry of Agriculture of Russia, the Ministry of Natural Resources of Russia, Roshydromet, JSC "SO UES", PJSC "RusHydro", JSC "Tatenergo", and executive authorities of subjects located within the boundaries of the Volga–Kama basin, including representatives of the Republic of Chuvashia, the Republic of Mari El, Ulyanovsk, Samara, Volgograd, Astrakhan, Saratov regions.
On behalf of the Republic of Tatarstan, the Minister of Ecology and Natural Resources of the Republic of Tatarstan Alexander Shadrikov, as well as a representative of JSC Tatenergo, took part in the videoconference meeting.
In the period from 11.10.2023 to 07.11.2023, due to the preservation of the flow rate through the Kuibyshev reservoir hydroelectric unit in the amount of 4400 cubic meters/s, taking into account the increase in inflow, the reservoir level was maintained at 50.1-50.0 m BS.
The Minister of Ecology of Tatarstan, speaking from 5 regions, proposed to reduce waste costs to 3,400 ± 200 cubic meters. m/s, which corresponds to the dispatch schedule of the Kuibyshev reservoir (according to the "Basic rules for the use of water resources of the Kuibyshev reservoir on the Volga River"). The reservoir is now located in the zone of a reduced guaranteed navigation release of 3,400 cubic meters/s.
Tatarstan's proposals were supported by the Republic of Mari El, the Republic of Chuvashia, Ulyanovsk, Samara regions and JSC Tatenergo.
In his speech, the Minister of Ecology of the Republic of Tatarstan noted that the current situation is already causing social tension. "I will emphasize once again - we speak on behalf of 10 million of our residents! Saving the aquatic biological resources of the Lower Volga during the spring flood, the resources of the main regulator of the Volga-Kama cascade, the Kuibyshev reservoir, were triggered, which caused damage to the fisheries of the Kuibyshev reservoir. 70% of our spawn died according to the FSBI "VNIRO", - Alexander Shadrikov once again reminded.
He noted that with the onset of the dry period, problems followed in the water industry of a number of regions: the Saratov, Volgograd and Astrakhan regions, the early completion of navigation on local shipping lines, the closure of some water tourist routes.
In his speech, the Head of the Ministry of Ecology drew attention to the fact that the proposals of the Republic of Tatarstan on the modes of operation of reservoirs are justified and confirmed by calculations in the "Gidrokaskad" software package created for these purposes. "In addition, now it is necessary to think about next spring and switch to accumulation mode in order to prevent a repeat of this year's situation. With maximum economy, we must activate all waterworks, because we must fill the Kuibyshev reservoir by the next spring flood."
However, despite the position of the regions, it was proposed by Rosvodresursy to increase expenditures from the Kuibyshev reservoir to an average of 4,800 cubic meters/s to take measures to fill the Volgograd reservoir. The Federal Agency supported Rosrybolovstvo, despite the catastrophic situation with biological resources on the Middle Volga.
Rosvodresursy noted that this measure is necessary to stabilize the operation of water intakes for economic and drinking purposes in the Saratov region. At the same time, it was proposed to increase expenditures from the Upper Volga reservoirs, so that the water level in the Kuibyshev reservoir will remain stable until the end of November.
In case of changes in the water management situation, the operating modes of reservoirs will be adjusted.
The established modes of operation of hydroelectric reservoirs will be published on the official website of Rosvodresurs.